Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will preside on Monday to certify her defeat in the 2024 election against Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
Because of her role as Senate majority leader, Harris will oversee formal certification before a joint session of Congress. Federal law requires Congress to meet on January 6 to certify the election results.
In a video message posted to social media, Harris touted her role as a “sacred duty” to ensure a peaceful transfer of power to her rival.
“As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile,” she says. “And it is up to each of us to uphold the principles we hold most dear.”
As part of her role as Senate president, Harris will join a list of other vice presidential candidates who will oversee the certification of her election loss.
AP memo Richard Nixon, who lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960, did the same. When the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 told George W. Bush he had won the election, Al Gore followed suit.
After Harris lost the election and sought to become the country's first female president, she promised in her concession speech to respect the will of voters.
“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that even if you lose an election, you accept the outcome,” she said. “This principle, like others, distinguishes democracy from monarchy and tyranny.”
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On Monday, Harris will wait for members to open sealed certificates from all 50 states. Each state contains a record of that state's electoral votes.
The results are read aloud and a formal count is compiled.
Harris plans to officially declare the winner once the presidential election vote count is complete.
